And where parents can buy tickets

By Matthew Byrne matbyrne@iu.edu | @MatthewByrne1

When I toured Indiana University in February of my senior year of high school on the East Coast, my dad and I attended an Indiana men’s basketball game one Sunday. From that point on, my college decision was bi- ased. C’mon, seeing Assembly Hall berserk as the Hoosiers beat No. 9 Penn State? I was hooked, particularly as I planned to major in sports media.

I won’t forget that game with my dad. The students flocked campus-wide to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall: those nose-bleed seats, the dunks, the comeback, the liveliness. It’s one core memory of my time at Indiana University, with my dad beside me. To parents: attending Indiana sporting events in the fall is the perfect way to spend time with your college kids.

The men’s and women’s basketball seasons start in

November, and while I fully suggest attending, many other sports coincide with the start of the fall semester in mid-August: football, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball. The football team’s home-opener is Sept. 2, men’s soccer August 29, women’s soccer August 17 and volleyball likely in late August.

Non-students must purchase football, men’s soccer, and volleyball tickets. IU Football Mini Season packages cost $105, with varying prices for up to three selected games. There is also an IU Football “September Special” Package, which includes tickets to the team’s three September home games. Tickets can be purchased online at https:// iuhoosiers.com/tickets.

Football is an all-day event. Thousands of fans tailgate in the parking lots and the Tailgate Fields nearby Memorial Stadium. If you’re looking for something more inexpensive and laid back, men’s and women’s soccer along with volleyball, is the perfect choice. Indiana men’s soccer, which reached the national championship last year, sells season-tickets for $40. It includes 10 home matches to watch one of the most successful college soccer programs.

While the men’s soccer home-opener is August 29, the team will play an exhibition match at home against the University of Louisville August 18. The women’s soccer season-opener is the night before, August 17, also at home in Bloomington. The fall semester begins Monday, August 21.

For those in-state, that’s great timing for parents and students to visit Indiana’s campus before the wave of classes, while also attending its first sporting events of the fall.

Men’s and women’s soccer both play at Bill Armstrong Stadium, which seats 6,500. Women’s soccer is free admission for students and non-students. Students gain free admission to men’s & women’s soccer, volleyball and women’s basketball. Single-match tickets for volleyball, which last year defeated two ranked teams on the road for the first time in program history, cost $1014 for adults. Matches are played in Wilkinson Hall, next to Assembly Hall.

Tickets can be purchased online at https://iuhoosiers. com/tickets.